National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Superintendent’s 2010 Report on Natural Resource Vital Signs Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument National Park Service Ajo, Arizona Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Lee Baiza, Superintendent Division of Natural and Cultural Resources Management Personnel Mark Sturm, Chief James Collis, Archeological Technician Charles W. Conner, Biological Technician Connie Gibson, Archeologist Peter Holm, Ecologist Sarah Howard, Biologist Edward Kuklinski, Biological Technician Ami C. Pate, Biological Technician Susan Rutman, Plant Ecologist Timothy J. Tibbitts, Wildlife Biologist Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument 10 Organ Pipe Drive Ajo, Arizona 85321 (520) 387-6849 Sonoran Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network Andy Hubbard, Network Program Manager Alice Wondrak Biel, Science Writer-Editor Suggested citation: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. 2011. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: Superintendent’s 2010 Report on Natural Resource Vital Signs. National Park Service, Ajo, Arizona. Photos courtesy of the National Park Service if not otherwise credited. Acronyms and Abbreviations AADT average annual daily traffic AGFD Arizona Game and Fish Department AQRV air quality related value cfs cubic feet per second DHS Department of Homeland Security EMP Ecological Monitoring Program ft feet IMPROVE Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments m meter NADP/NTN National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network OPCNM Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument POE port of entry SODN Sonoran Desert Network USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USGS U.S. Geological Survey Table of Contents Ecosystem Drivers Climate (Annual Precipitation).............................................................................................6 Climate (Average Annual Temperature)..............................................................................7 Climate (Days with Freezing Temperatures)........................................................................7 Severe Weather......................................................................................................................7 Landscape-Scale Indicators Air Quality (Deposition)........................................................................................................8 Air Quality (Visibility)............................................................................................................8 Surface Water Quality...........................................................................................................9 Groundwater........................................................................................................................10 Terrestrial Vegetation and Soils.........................................................................................10 Diurnal Lizards....................................................................................................................11 Landbirds..............................................................................................................................12 Nocturnal Rodents..............................................................................................................13 Rare and Sensitive Species Sonoran Pronghorn............................................................................................................14 Lesser Long-nosed Bat........................................................................................................14 Quitobaquito Pupfish.........................................................................................................15 Acuña Cactus.......................................................................................................................15 Sonoyta Mud Turtle............................................................................................................16 Sonoran Desert Tortoise.....................................................................................................17 Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.........................................................................................17 Stressors Border-related Impacts.......................................................................................................18 Pedestrian Fence Impacts to Surface Hydrology...............................................................19 Highway 85.........................................................................................................................20 Highway Impacts to Wildlife..............................................................................................20 Fire .....................................................................................................................................21 Non-native Invasive Plants..................................................................................................21 Visitor Use...........................................................................................................................22 Adjacent Land Use Trends..................................................................................................22 Focal Resources Prehistoric Cultural Resources............................................................................................23 Historic Cultural Resources.................................................................................................23 Desert Bighorn Sheep.........................................................................................................24 Columnar Cactus Phenology...............................................................................................25 Wilderness Soundscapes.....................................................................................................25 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument • Superintendent’s 2010 Report on Natural Resource Vital Signs 3 international “sister park”) lies to the southwest. rgan pipe cactus national monument (opcnm) was estab- lished by Presidential proclamation in 1937 to preserve OPCNM’s contributions towards conservation are highlighted by: approximately 330,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert for its biological diversity; the continuance of natural ecological and Othe public interest. In 1976, the monument was declared an Inter- evolutionary processes within an expansive desert wilderness; the national Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations and in 1978, monument’s abundant prehistoric and historic cultural resources; Congress designated nearly 95% of monument lands as wilder- and the opportunities it presents for research, education, and rec- ness. The purpose of OPCNM, as stated in the park’s foundation reation. NPS staff work to understand monument resources and plan (2006), is to: processes in order to help protect and maintain them within a nor- mal and sustainable range of variation. Management concerns have grown from a focus on adjacent land use and recovery from graz- • Perpetuate for future generations a representative sample of ing and mining to include climate change, invasive species, highway the natural and cultural resources of the Sonoran Desert and traffic, and illegal immigration. provide for public understanding, safe use, and enjoyment of the same; OPCNM has a long and rich history of scientific research and • Serve as a natural laboratory for understanding and managing monitoring. The monument first began long-term monitoring of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem; environmental and ecological parameters of interest in the 1980s. Today, these parameters are known as “vital signs”—key resources • Serve as a baseline indicator against which environmental that are indicative of park ecological conditions and changes with- changes can be identified; and in the monument. A synthesis of research, monitoring, and public scoping helps to develop monument goals. This report presents • Preserve for future use and enjoyment the character and val- examples of in-situ and ex-situ conservation, law enforcement, ues of this designated wilderness. public outreach, and habitat restoration, which reflect some of the monument’s recent management priorities. The monument is an important protected area, providing habitat for a diverse flora and fauna, including threatened, endangered, The park considers this vital signs report to be useful for commu- and sensitive species. Adjacent lands include Cabeza Prienta Na- nication purposes because it brings into focus the status and trends tional Wildlife Refuge to the west, Bureau of Land Management of diverse park resources and natural processes. This report is in- and Barry M. Goldwater Range to the north, the Tohono O’odham tended to evolve as monitoring programs continue to develop, as Nation to the east, and Mexico to the south. Adjacent lands in well as in response to user feedback. Sonora, Mexico include a mosaic of developed and undeveloped lands. The Pinacate Biosphere Reserve (the monument’s official 4 Superintendent’s 2010 Report on Natural Resource Vital Signs • Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Conceptual diagrams provide a means for organizing and communicating the relationship between resource components and key processes in an ecological context. This conceptual diagram of OPCNM’s natural resource vital signs begins to tell the stories of how these resources interact on the landscape. Vital signs color code: Ecosystem Drivers, Landscape-scale Indicators, Rare and Sensitive